page_title: History of Hamilton, Ontario
section_title: Notable people from Hamilton prior to 1946
hierarchical_section_title: History of Hamilton, Ontario / Notable people from Hamilton prior to 1946
caption_attribution_description: Photo of United States senator James McMillan (R-MI).
context_page_description: Hamilton, from the point at which it was first colonized by settlers, has benefited from its geographical proximity to major land and water transportation routes along the Niagara Peninsula and Lake Ontario. Its strategic importance has created, by Canadian standards, a rich military history which the city preserves.
  Tension between maximizing economic growth and minimizing environmental damage was evident, even from the city's early development. The area between Burlington Bay and the Niagara Escarpment has been greatly altered for residential, industrial and recreational purposes. Cootes Paradise in Dundas also known as the Dundas Marsh, was a very rich wetland with plenty of fish, birds and other game. Cootes Paradise was named after Captain Thomas Coote, a British army officer of Irish extraction who was stationed in the area at the time of the American revolutionary war in the 18th century. The richness of the valley led to population, and to degradation of the marsh, although its legal protection, starting in the 1880s, and the efforts of civic officials and others, have led to it still being of great environmental importance in the 21st century.
context_section_description: People associated with Hamilton who became well-known prior to 1946 are listed below in the order of their birth year.
  Étienne Brûlé, (1592–1633), The first European to visit what is now Hamilton was probably Étienne Brûlé in 1616.
  Robert Land, (1736–1818), veteran of the American Revolution and one of Hamilton's founding citizens.
  John Askin, (1739–1815), was a fur trader, merchant and official in Upper Canada.
  Nathaniel Hughson, (1755–1837), Farmer & hotel owner, Loyalist who moved to Canada following the American Revolution, one of the city founders of Hamilton.
  William Rymal, (1759–1852), farmer and one of earliest settlers on the Hamilton mountain. Rymal Road was named after him.
  Richard Beasley (1761–1842), was a soldier, political figure, farmer and businessman in Upper Canada.
  John Vincent, (1764–1848), British army officer in the Battle of Stoney Creek, War of 1812.
  Richard Hatt (1769–1819), was a businessman, judge and political figure in Upper Canada.
  James Gage, (1774–1854), Lumber merchant, miller. Gage Avenue in the city named after him.
  James Durand, (1775–1833), was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada.
  John Willson, (1776–1860) was a judge and political figure in Upper Canada.
  Peter Hess, (1779–1855), farmer, landowner. Peter and Hess Streets in the city named after him as well as Caroline Street named after one of his daughters.
  George Hamilton, (1788–1836), settler and city founder.
  Henry Beasley, (1793–1859), was a farmer and office-holder.
  Sir Allan MacNab, (Sir Allan Napier MacNab), (1798–1862), soldier, lawyer, businessman, knight and former Prime Minister of Upper Canada. MacNab Street in Hamilton is named after him.
  Thomas Stinson, (1798–1864), merchant, banker, landowner. He was an extensive landowner in not only in Hamilton but as well as Chicago, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Superior City, Wisconsin, which he named.
  George Perkins Boothesby Bull, (1795–1847), newspaper printer, publisher of one of Hamilton's early newspapers The Hamilton Gazette (1835–1856).
  Edward Jackson, (1799–1872), tinware manufacturer. Jackson Street in city named after him.
  Peter Hunter Hamilton, (1800–1857), landowner and businessman + half brother of city founder George Hamilton. Hunter Street in city named after him.
  Peter Jones, (1802-1856), known in Ojibwe as Kahkewāquonāby; Son of Augustus Jones and Tuhbenahneequay, Indigenous Methodist missionary and Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, born on the Burlington Heights.
  Colin Campbell Ferrie, (1808–1856), Hamilton's first Mayor.
  Isaac Buchanan, (1810–1883), was a businessman and political figure in Canada West.
  Daniel C. Gunn, (1811–1876), wharfinger, locomotive manufacturer.
  James Jolley, (1813–1892), saddler, harnessmaker, politician. Funded construction of the Jolley Cut; a Mountain access road in Hamilton.
  John Rae, (1813-1893), physician, explorer. Discovered fate of the Lost Franklin Expedition; lived in Hamilton 1857–1860.
  Colin Campbell Ferrie, (1808–1856), Hamilton's first Mayor.
  Dennis Moore, (1817–1887), tinware manufacturer.
  Hugh Cossart Baker, Sr., (1818–1859), Banker, businessman, mathematician. Establishes the first life insurance company in Canada (21 August 1847); the Canada Life Assurance Company.
  Richard Wanzer, (1818–1900), sewing machine manufacturer.
  Thomas Mayne Daly, Sr., (1827–1885), was a businessman and political figure in Canada West (later Ontario). He represented the riding of Perth North in the House of Commons of Canada and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
  Thomas Bain, (1834–1915), Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons.
  Richard Butler, (1834–1925), editor, publisher, journalist. Butler neighbourhood in Hamilton named after him.
  George Elias Tuckett, (1835–1900), Tuckett Tobacco Company, Hamilton's 27th mayor.
  James McMillan, (1838–1902), was a U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan from 1889 to 1902.
  William Eli Sanford (1838–1899), was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and politician.
  George Washington Johnson, (1839–1917), teacher and songwriter; author of poem When You and I Were Young, 
caption: James McMillan was a U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan from 1889 to 1902.
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